1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to emergency telephone calls, and in particular, to a system and method for notifying persons of an emergency telephone call.
2. Statement of the Problem
Telecommunications are widely used for emergencies. The 911 telephone number is a good example, as it has been widely used for emergency situations and can be used to communicate with police, fire, or medical personnel. Most persons know that in the event of an emergency, they can dial 911 and can immediately summon assistance. When a person places a call to an emergency telephone number, a dispatcher typically routes the call to an appropriate emergency responder, such as a police, fire, or ambulance department.
While this may be adequate in terms of meeting the emergency needs of the person, notification of other nearby persons is not triggered by the emergency telephone call. For example, in the event of an emergency call for a fire in a building, the notification of other persons is typically left to a fire alarm system. In many cases, a fire alarm system is adequate. However, if the fire alarm system is faulty or if persons are not in range of alarms, notification of other persons may not be satisfactorily achieved. Alternatively, if the emergency is the occurrence of a chemical spill, medical emergency, traffic collision, etc., then there may simply not be a notification system that will notify nearby persons.
In the prior art, there are reverse 911 systems that can be used to generate alarm or notification messages to various persons. However, the reverse 911 telephone calls of the prior art are prompted by an operator or other personnel. In the prior art, notification to additional persons of an emergency situation is not automatically generated upon the occurrence of an emergency telephone call. Notification in the event of an emergency situation is not immediate.